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She saved them after trips between home and Berkeley. She said she found it easier to buy new ones than to add fare to the old ones.

"You can't use $1.95 to go anywhere," Segal said.

Other riders had the same problem. Making no conscious effort to save or throw away old tickets, they become collectors. When BART passed out fliers announcing the one-day event, many waited in line to see how they added up.

"I've got maybe 10 dollars' worth," said Carol Babalola of Oakland. "You just don't take the time out to put them back into the machine."

Ticket consolidation has always been available, though time consuming. Riders must bring their tickets to a station agent to fill out a voucher. They get a new ticket in about 10 days.

The ticket consolidation seemed to be a big hit; two lines stretched up the stairs and out of the station.

"I don't know why I'm in line," said George Chan, a Muni technician. "It's just three dollars."

But those dollars add up.

"You'd be surprised how many people put three dollars in for a $2.95 ride," a Montgomery Street station supervisor said.

"They should be doing this all the time," said Cathy Hess of the Pacific Telesis Group. "I've put in suggestions asking if they could put in machines (to add up loose tickets), I never got any answers back."

BART said the Montgomery Street station was chosen because of its high volume and that it plans to bring the consolidation service to other high-volume stations.

"I think that it has the potential for being fairly popular for people," said BART spokesman Mike Healy.

"We don't have it scheduled yet (for all the stations), but at least the concept of it we like." &lt;